Electricity, Trade, Pensions/retirement, Corporate Social Responsibility
EPSU joins 140 organisations condemning blockage of Corporate Due Diligence Directive
The agreement reached between the European Parliament and Council on the Corporate Social Due Diligence Directive has been blocked by an alliance of governments led by France under Macron and with tacit support of Germany and Italy.
International support to Italian ENEL workers
Filctem-CGIL, Flaei-CISL, and Uiltec-UIL are currently mobilising in protest of Enel Group’s decision to make unilateral changes in working hours arrangements, outsourcing operations on the electricity grid, and refusing to renew the remote work agreement.
Joint union protest over pay, pensions and austerity
Eight trade union organisations, including the five main confederations – CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC – have come together to organise a national demonstration on 13 October over the cost-of-living and the threat of austerity. The key demands will be around increases to the national minimum wage and pay rises in collective agreements and the unions will continue their protests against the pension reforms which came into effect on 1 September. The unions are also looking at measures to reduce the gender pay gap and increased funding for public services.
Unions negotiate special age limits for arduous work
The LO and other confederations have negotiated special age limits and pension additions for public sector workers in difficult and arduous jobs. When a new public service pension was negotiated in 2018, it was clear that separate pension solutions had to be agreed for over 200,000 with special age limits. After two failed negotiations, bargaining resumed on 30 May this year, and an agreement was reached on 25 August. The new model will mean that with full earnings, a special age premium of 5.8% will apply to those with a special age limit of 65 years, 6.5% for those with 63 years and 7.7% for
Protests continue against pension reforms
On 6 June trade union organisations, including CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CFE-CGC, along with student groups, again mobilised significant numbers in protests and strikes around the country to try to block the government’s pension reforms. An estimated 900000 people took part in demonstrations in what was the 14th national day of action and marking six months of protests. The focus of the action on 6 June was to put pressure on MPs to vote for a resolution in the national assembly that would revoke the proposal to increase the pension age from 62 to 64. The joint trade union committee is due to
Unions build for 6 June ahead of vote on pensions
The trade union movement, including the CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA and CGC-CFE, are maintaining their unified opposition to the government’s pensions reforms. They are now building for protest and strike action on 6 June ahead of 8 June when a draft bill to abolish the reforms will be voted on in the National Assembly. The unions reaffirmed their determination to get the reforms withdrawn following bilateral meetings with the government. They have also set up a website to make it easier for people to write to their MPs to get them to support the vote on the 8th.
New Right to Energy manifesto calls for a European ban on energy disconnections
The Right to Energy coalition has launched a manifesto advocating for a European ban on energy disconnections, urging the European Parliament to leverage the demand as they review the European Commission’s proposal to revise the energy market.